IDF Europe Regional Council (RC) is our most important annual event. It is an opportunity to take stock of 2018 activities and share practices, but also discuss the new coming challenges, 2019 priority projects and financial matters. This time, this important gathering took place in the city of Tirana (Albania) from 23 to 25 November and was hosted by our Albanian member Shoqata e Diabetit në Shqipëri and welcomed by Vice prime minister of Albania, Senida Mesi.
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Launch of Regional Council 2018 by Florian Toti, representative of our host member association
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Albania vice prime minister Senida Mesi welcomes IDF Europe to Tirana |
More than 70 attendees representing members, corporate partners and special guests participated in this year edition on Access to New Therapies. Innovation on new therapies are meant to improve treatments effectiveness but also to ease patients’ lives and to increase health system’s efficiency, among others. Currently, e-Health, biological medical products and innovative medical devices are taking the lead on new therapies. In IDF Europe, we believe in the positive potential these new therapies may bring to the people living with diabetes and thus, our Saturday morning session focused some of these topical issues.
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IDF Europe members, Corporate partners and guests at 2018 Regional Council in Tirana |
Artificial intelligence, the way to personalized medicine?
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| Pr Massimo Massi-Benedetti |
Dr Massimo Massi-Benedetti, former IDF Europe chair and current president of the Hub for International Health Research, opened the morning session stressing the increasing need of personalized medicine within healthcare systems.
According to Dr Massi-Benedetti, artificial intelligence could be a potential tool to improve diabetes care and thus improving personalized care. “Artificial pancreas is no longer science fiction” and mobile technology is already helping patients the better self-manage health conditions and diseases.
Biosimilars or “highly similar version”
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| Adrian van den Hoven, Medicines for Europe |
Adrian Van den Hoven from Medicines Europe brought the expertise to the second part of this morning session. The patent period end provokes the development of a “highly similar version” (biosimilar) from an original authorised biologic, this development should convey a more affordable price and availability to patients.
However, patients demand to prove that they can be an alternative for the patient well-being, but there are concerns in their minds in terms of variability (the active substance of a biosimilar must be similar), safety (to monitor them and assess risk), and availability. Members rose up concerns and scepticism on the implication of switching treatments to this new therapy.
IDF Europe’s prizes. From education on diabetes in Slovenian schools to research on insulin resistance
For the third consecutive year, we celebrated the 2018 IDF Europe Prizes ceremony to reward excellence, innovation, and commitment in diabetes. These Awards aim at increasing awareness about diabetes and acknowledging outstanding individuals who are dedicated to improving the lives of people with diabetes.
This year, the Long-standing Achievement prize went to our Slovenian member association Zveza društev diabetikov Slovenije and its efforts toward improving education on diabetes in schools. Vice president Alojz Rudolf collected the award sponsored by Eli Lilly and Company.
Dr Martin Heni was the second winner of the venue, awarded with the IDF Europe Young Researcher prize for his studies on pathogenetic of insulin resistance and to type 2 diabetes and his interesting research on the effect of the hormone insulin in the human brain. Air Liquide Healthcare funds this prize.
Check the full report here
Alojz Rudolf, Vice president of the Zveza društev diabetikov
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Dr Martin Heni, winner of the Young Researcher Prize, together with
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Long-standing Achivement prize is sponsored by Lilly and Company |
Young Researcher prize is sponsored by Air Liquide Healthcare |
ICHOM project, road to value based healthcare
What cannot be measured cannot be managed. There is an increasing need of a value-based system of assessment to be cost effective and efficient from the perspectives of both the patients and doctors. This is one of the objectives of The International Consortium of Health Outcomes Measurement (ICHOM) project. Professors Kemi Okunade, Fabrizio Carinci and Massimo Massi-Benedetti presented the Global Standard set on Sunday 25 November.
The standard set defines the most pertinent outcomes for adults living type 1 and type 2 diabetes. The set outcomes variables are a combination of patient reported outcomes and clinical measures and the collection of this real-time and comparable data set is crucial leads to a value based health care.
Learn more: https://www.ichom.org/
IDF Europe, from Tirana to Busan
Regional councils are key to IDF Europe, because not only it is the occasion when all our members gather once a year and share best practices, but because we identify the weaknesses and opportunities for the road ahead. In IDF Europe we are continually learning on how to better coordinate and cooperate to uninterruptedly achieve better outcomes for all people living with diabetes.
Because together we are stronger, thanks to all member for their a dedicated and passionate national work for diabetes, to our corporate partners for believing that cooperating we achieve more and to professional colleagues for bringing their expertise to our activities throughout the year. And special gratitude to our Albanian member for hosting and organizing so warmly our Regional Council in Tirana.
